US Presidential race: does money matter?

The link between campaign spending and elections results makes intuitive sense. It suggests that more spending leads to more votes.

Yet, different studies suggest that campaign spending isn’t as influential as it seems, and other factors are involved.

Whilst data for all presidential elections from 1980 – 2012 seems to support conventional wisdom, earlier elections, as well as the 2016 one, suggest that higher spending does not determine a successful outcome.